Jordan

Jordan

Jordan, an Arab nation on the east bank of the Jordan River, is defined by ancient monuments, nature reserves and seaside resorts. It’s home to the famed archaeological site of Petra, the Nabatean capital dating to around 300 B.C. Set in a narrow valley with tombs, temples and monuments carved into the surrounding pink sandstone cliffs, Petra earns its nickname, the “Rose City.
Jordan is a land steeped in history. It has been home to some of mankind’s earliest settlements and villages, and relics of many of the worlds great civilizations can still be seen today.
Amman, the capital of Jordan, is a fascinating city of contrasts – a unique blend of old and new, ideally situated on a hilly area between the desert and the fertile Jordan Valley.
In the commercial heart of the city, ultra-modern buildings, hotels, smart restaurants, art galleries and boutiques rub shoulders comfortably with traditional coffee shops and tiny artisans’ workshops. Everywhere there is evidence of the city’s much older past.
Due to the city’s modern-day prosperity and temperate climate, almost half of Jordan’s population is concentrated in the Amman area. The residential suburbs consist of mainly tree-lined streets and avenues flanked by elegant, almost uniformly white houses in accordance with a municipal law, which states that all buildings must be faced with local stone.
The downtown area is much older and more traditional with smaller businesses producing and selling everything from fabulous jewellery to everyday household items.
The people of Amman are multi-cultural, multi-denominational, well-educated and extremely hospitable. They welcome visitors and take pride in showing them around their fascinating and vibrant city.
As the crossroads of the Middle East, the lands of Jordan and Palestine have served as a strategic nexus connecting Asia, Africa, and Europe. Thus, since the dawn of civilization, Jordan’s geography has given it an important role to play as a conduit for trade and communications, connecting east and west, north and south. Jordan continues to play this role today.

The “upper-middle income” country of Jordan, as classified from the National Bank, boasts a GDP of $40 billion per year with growth rate of 2.6% per annum. However, Jordan Kingdom has a well-diversified economy from trade, finance, communications, transportation, mining, constructions, public utilities, and tourism. Jordan’s official currency is the Jordanian Dinar, which has almost fixed exchange rate towards other foreign currencies like US Dollar or Euro (1 Dinar = 1.43 USD).

Due to Jordan’s well-built infrastructure and value of its cultural heritage, tourism has become one of the most important elements and sources of the national income. The reason is that Tourism represents an important source of hard currency, which helps Jordan to enhance and grow the trade sector as well as to increase national production. It’s working effectively on usage of facilities and services, which leads directly into rate increasing of employment. Beside that it is also helps in use of tourist facilities that are managed, operated and developed by the private and governmental associations.

Good To Know

Country

Jordan

Visa Requirements

A passport with a validity of at least six months and a visa are required for entry into Jordan.

Languages spoken

Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic

Currency used

Jordanian dinar

Area (km2)

89,342 km²

Cuisine

Falafel, a combination of ground chickpeas, mixed with a variety of spices, then deep fried into mini patty like shapes, is one of the most common street food snacks or light meals in Jordan. They can be eaten on their own like veggie nuggets, eaten with bread, or stuffed into sandwiches. The falafel in Jordan was indeed the best I’ve ever had, light and fluffy on the inside, crispy on the outside, with an aroma of cumin, garlic, and parsley.

Hummus is possibly the most well known Levantine and Middle Eastern food around the world. The hummus in Jordan was fantastic, and despite containing just about the same ingredient make-up at every restaurant you order it from, it’s amazing how each version tasted just slightly different – the amount of lemon juice, and ratio of garbanzo beans to tahini, the texture, and also, very importantly, the olive oil.
Fattet hummus is a complete twist on regular hummus. While it has that similar garbanzo bean taste, with a hint of lemon juice and olive oil, the texture is totally different – it kind of feels like whipped hummus. It’s fluffy and airy like whipped cream, not nearly as dense or thick as regular hummus.